Releasable stake pocket for railway cars



J, OHALLORAN I RELEASABLE STAKE POCKET FOR RAILWAY CARS Filed Oct. 13, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 87 MRIYE May 5, 1925.

J. OHALLORAN RELEASABLE STAKE POCKET FOR RAILWAY CARS Filed Oct. 13, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 "tents of the car.

spills over theside of thecar. thisthe pockets for the lower ends of the Patented 'May 5, 1925.

JAMES dilemma;Demetri s FALLS, oivmnmcANAnA.

RELEASABLE s rAKu POCKET 110R RAIL A CARS.

n me. aiea'oaobnr 13, 1923. Serial 1%. 668,349.

To (1Z6 whom. it may] concern-.7

Bent known that l, J AMES OHALLORAN, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and

residing at Iroquois Falls, Provinceof Ontario, Dominion offCanada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in .ielea'sable Stake Pockets for Railway Cars and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear same. v

. 'My invention relates tothe stake'portion of railway cars andespeoiallyto the pockets for securing the stakes'of. railway cars in position; the invention appertains particu-' larly to pockets of thej releasable type adapted to permit thestakebeing automati cally displaced for the discharge of the con- With cars transporting loose connnojdities such as logs theload, s mamtamed'upon the car by. side stakes and 1S discharged by the expedient of freeing the stakes [so that the weight of the load displaces the" stakes and In View of stakes have been, made displaceable and secured in stake retaining position by a trip device which can bereleased to free the pocket ftIldPGlllllt the stake to be dlsplaced underythe outward urge of the load. Inv an arrangement of this nature where the load such, as logs is utilized to displace the freed pocl-zet 'and kick the stake away from restrainingposition the device is naturally subject to considerable strain and rough usageand it is therefore the primary object of the invention to improve GXlStlIlg. devices of this characterby the production of a simplified arrangement of a minimum number of parts capable of sturdy construction resulting in a more rugged, arrangement thanheretofore. p f f f A- :lurther object is to provide a stake 01':

a special construction toprotect itfrom eX'- 1 cessive wear:

The above with additional objects and advantages will be hereinafter more fully de- Scribed and particularly pointed 'out'in'the appended claims. 1 j

For full comprehension,however;of my invention referenceshoul d'be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification. in which the same'refer ence characters indicate the like parts and wherein: i m

and. exact description of. the

Figfl is asideelevation of a portion of a railway car with my improved attachment applied thereto; I

Fig. 2 1s a section on line 2 F 1g. 1,

sl'1mvi11g the pocket locked in Stake retaining position;

Fig; '3 is a side view similar to Fig. 2

with the pocket and stake released; and

Fig. t is a 4 Fig. 2.

In the drawings I have illustrated my invention as applied to a loggingcar, the

plan viewed as indicated at floor of which is indicated at 2 and supported upon the longitudinally extending beams 3. .Stakes 4 are arranged at suitable distances along the carsidefand at each of these locations my improved pocket is dis- I posed. Each stake pocket consists of an upright inwardly facing U-shaped pocket member 5 pivotedlatthe bottom at '6 to the car structure at a point below the floor thereof a s'ufiicient distance to permit the pocket member swinging outwardly and downwardly free of the bottom end of the stake which the pocket member embraces when in itsupright oriclosedposition holding'the stake in place.

' The pocket member is. locked in closed position by a latch 7 pivoted at 19 to the car structure at a point inside, the stake line and having its free'endfformedto engage the upper or free end ofthe pocketmemher; This lockingengagement of the latch with the pocketmember is maintained by a yertically slidable bolt 8 engaging the linden side of the latch between the ends and being upheld by a: lever 9 engaging its lower end. Lever 9 is pivotally supported by thelcar structure on the pivot 6 near the side of the car and extends inwardly beneath and-in engagement with bolt 8, the inner free end .Ofthe level. b i loosely supported upon a crank arm 10 formed upon a shaft '11 extending longitudinally under and supported Rotation of" shaft ll 1' by the, car structure. withdraws crank 10' from. beneath lever 9 pern'nttlng the latter to swing down and *thereby lowering bolt 8 thus pern'litting latch 7 todisengage from pocket member 5 to unlockrhe latter and permit ittoswing 'free of the stake,'to release the latter.

. The" engagement of latch 7 and pocket member 5 is secured through the medium of correspondingly inclined surfaces whlch, upon the lowering of bolt 8, are free to slide lit til)

out of engagement, this arrangement. translating the outward urge of the load into a downward force upon the latch thus utilizing the force of the load upon the stake to automatically unlock the pocket member, free the stake and displace the latter for the discharge.

The detail arrangement is as follows:

A su] )portin;1 bracket 12 is bolted at 12 to the outer side of the outside stringer 3 of the car, the bracket being formed with top and bottom flanges 13 and 14 respectively extending over and under the beam. the whole forming a U-shaped saddle vertically straddling the beam from the outside and held securely thereto by the bolts 12. the heats of which are located in depressionsformed in the vertical margins of the bracket so as not to project outwardly from the bracket. The flanges 13 and let have vertical openings 15 therethrough registering with a vertical passage through the outside stringer and constituting a guide way for bolt 8 which extends downwardly therethrough. the floor of the car being cut away to accommodate the flange 1.3 and bolt 8.

Y The lower end of the bracket is formed with depending apertured lugs 16 on opposite sides and spaced from each other to form bearings for a pin 6 upon which the lower end of the pocket is mounted, the lower end of the pocket being bifurcated at 1 6 and apertured to receive the pin thus forming the pivotal support of the pocket. The pocket member 5 extends from its pivoted end across the bracket upwardly a suitable distance above the floor level of the car and is substantially U-form in crosssection from its upper open end to a point near thebottom of the bracket for the accommodation of the stake and the outer face of the bracket has a corresponding vertical concavity to co-operate with the pocket member in the accommodation of the stake. An interior transverse ledge or shoulder 17 is formed near the bottom of the pocket member upon which the lower end of the stake is adapted to besupported. It is preferred to have the co-operating concavities of the bracket and pocket curved in cross-section as it has been found that a round metallic stake is preferable to the irregular wooden stake inasmuch as the latter is more subject to wear and the danger of splitting, especially from the upper end, is greatly increased. For this reason I have found that the most efficient stake is a metal.- lic one surmounted by a conical cap 4, the tapered top deflecting any object which might otherwise strike solidly upon and injure the stake.

The upper end of the pocket member has outwardly extending); lugs 18 at its free inner edges and the latch T preferably in the form of a plate mounted upon a pin 19 at its inner end, the pin hearing at its inner ends in cross beams 20 of the car. The outer or free ends of the latch is bifurcated to straddle the upper end of the pocket member when the latter is in its upright or closed position, the legs 21 of the latch being formed with upwardly extending lugs 22 adapted to slide upwardly into engagement with the lugs 18, when the pocket member is in its upright position. The lugs 18 present outwardly facing and downwardly and inwardly inclined surfaces 23 while the lugs present inwardly facing and upwardly and outwardly inclined surfaces 24; so that when the latch is raised into locking position with the pocketmember the surfaces and 2 1 slide over each other and draw the pocket member snugly inwardly about the stake while in the releasing movement the co-operating inclined surfaces cause the outward urge exerted upon the pocket memher by the outwardly directed force of the load upon the stake, to be translated into a downward force positively and automatically freeing the latch from the pocket mem ber. This accelerates the stake releasing movement of the pocket member and this acceleration is augmented by the position of pivot G, the lower end of the pocket member being inwardly oli'set to so dispose the pivotal point. 6 as to avoid dead centre rctardation in the swinging movement of the pocket member.

The bolt supporting lever 9, is also pivoted upon pin 6, the outer end of the lever being mounted upon the pin between the legs 16 of the pocket member and extending there from in a slight arc to a point beneath the floor beams of the car when its inner free end rests upon the before mentioned crank arm 10 constituted by a flattened and laterally extended portion of shaft 11 which latter is mounted in bearings 25 suspended from one of the beams. The shaft 11 preferably extends between two stakes and is provided with two crank portionsso that the two-stakes can be operated at one time, the shaft being oscillated by a lever arm 26 fixed thereto and extending downwardly therefrom. For convenience the lever arm is actuated by an operating bar 27 connected at its inner end to the lower end of the lever arm 26 and extending outwardly therefrom to the opposite side of the car where it is lixedly supported by a bracket 28 in a manner whereby it can be readily released for operation.

Prior to loading the car the stakes are positioned with the pocket members enclosing them and the lever 9 set to uphold the bolts 8 and maintain the latch in locking engagement with the pocket members, the operating bar 27 being fixed to its bracket to avoid accidental releasing movement. The car is then loaded and when the discharge IOU point is reached, operating baris released and pulled outwardly thus oscillating shaft 11 to withdraw crank 10 from beneath lever t) and permit the latter to swingdown for the lowering of bolt 8, the weight of the load against the stake automatically uplocking the pocket," members,swinging the latter down and displacing the restraining stake. In the operation oitcars of this type the discharge side only of the car is usually provided with. the releasable pocket members,

the stakes on the opposite side being secured in the usual manner and havinga chain 31 attached to the top and extending therefrom to the top of the releasable stake opposite so that in discharging the load and releasing the lower endoi the releasable stakes the upper end of thestake is flexibly held and the freed stake kicked upwardly out of the way of the falling load. In my preferred construction the cap 4 is formed with an eye for the convenient attachment of chain 31. i v a i hat I claim is as follows: I 1. In a car thecombination with longitudinal frame members and a pair of transverse load supporting members carried by and projecting beyond the longitudinal members, of a releasable stake holdingdevice comprising a pocket member the lower end of which is oliset to permit pivotal connection with one of said longitudinal members and the upper free end of which is formed for engagement by a latch when in stake-holding position; a latch adapted to engage the free end of said pocket member, and means carried by the. longitudinal members for operating the latch; the arrangement being such that all parts ofthe device, when the pocket member has been released and swung down toits lowermost position, are entirely beneath the load bearingsurtace and inwardly away from: the ends of said transverse members."

2. In a car the combination with lo'ngitudinal. frame members and a pair of trans verse load supporting beam members carried by and projecting beyond the longitudinal members, of a releasable stake holding device comprising a lockingmember the lower end of which is offset to. permit pivotal connection with one of said longitudinal members and the upper free end of which is formed for engagement bya latch when in stake holding position between the proentirely beneath the load bearing surface andinwardlyaway trom the ends of said transverse members. i

3. In a railway car, the combination with a stake, of a pocket embracing the lower end of the stake, such pocket being pivoted to the car structure'a t a'point below the floor level and adapted to swing outwardly to release the stake and a locking device for holding the pocket in its stake retaining position including a latch pivoted to swing vertically and engage the upper end ofthe pocket, a device for positively upholding the latch and including a vertically slidable bolt engaging the underside of the latch, a

lever upholding the bolt at its lower end, a

crank shaft upholding the lever and means for oscillating the crank shaftfto release the lever and uerinit the bolt to withdraw from upholding position with respect to the latch.

4. In a railway car, the combination with a stake, of a pocket embracing the lower end of the stake, such pocket being pivoted to the car structure to swing outwardly therefrom and comprising an elongated member of U-form in cross section, a latch pivoted to the car and adapted to engage with the pocket to hold same in stake retaining position, a'vertically slidable belt for locking the latch in engagement with the pocket and means for lowering and raising the bolt to alternately unlock and lock the latch. r

5. In a car, a releasable stake supporting and holding device comprising a pocket member of oblong form, presenting an inner concave surface to accommodate a stake of tubular form and having its lower end oil set to permit pivotal connection to the underframe of the car.

- 6. In a railwaycar, thecombiuation with a stake, of a pocket embracing the lower end of the stake, such pocket being pivoted to the car structure at a point below the floor level and extending upwardly from the pivot point to a point above the floor level, the major portion'of the pocket being substantially of U-form in cross-section and presenting an interior shoulder near the lowerend for upholding the stake, lugs extending outwardly from the upper end of the pocket, a latch pivoted to the car structure inside the stake line and adapted to swing upwardly into engagementwith tioued bolt slidably supported by the car structure with its upper end engaging the underside of the latch, a lever pivoted atone endto the car structure and having the lower end of the bolt supported thereby, an oscillatory shaft supported by the car structure and presenting a crank arm upon which the free end of the lever is upheld, a lever arm fixed to the shaft and an operating bar connected at one end to the lever arm wherethe lugs otthe pocket, a vertically posid MIL by the shaft is oscillated to withdraw the crank arm from supporting position with respect to the bolt supporting lever.

7. In a railway car, having a floor andfloor beams including an outside stringer, with a vertical opening therethrough, a stake pocket construction comprising, a bracket presenting; a ,concaved outer face and being); bolted to the outer side of the outside stringe and presenting a vertically disposed concave outer face and top and bottom flanges lying over and under the stringer and presenting openings registering with the opening through the stringer, astake pocket having a horizontal pivotal connection with the lower end of the bracket and extending upwardly across the latter, said pocket being of substantial U-form in holding the latch in engagement with the pocket and means for supporting and lowering and raising the bolt to release and uphold the latch.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in. the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES QHALLOBAN.

itnesses IlZOXKAC l. M. b'mnronn,

R. .CTAHAGAN. 

